Alkali metal carbonate and/or hydroxide detergents are often referred to as ash detergents and caustic detergents, respectively. Detergent formulations employing alkali metal carbonates and/or alkali metal hydroxides are known to provide effective detergency. Formulations can vary greatly in their degree of corrosiveness, acceptance as consumer-friendly and/or environmentally-friendly products, as well as other detergent characteristics. Generally, as the alkalinity of these detergent compositions increase, the difficulty in preventing hard water scale accumulation also increases. A need therefore exists for detergent compositions that minimize and/or eliminate hard water scale accumulation within systems employing these detergents.
In addition, as the use of phosphorous raw materials in detergents becomes more heavily regulated, industries are seeking alternative ways to control hard water scale formation associated with highly alkaline detergents.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the claimed invention to develop alkaline detergent compositions effective for controlling hard water scale accumulation while maintaining effective detergency.
A further object of the invention is to provide methods for employing alkaline detergents between pHs from about 9 to about 12.5 without causing significant hard water scale accumulation.
A still further object of the invention is to employ mono-, bis- and oligomeric phosphinosuccinic acid (PSO) derivatives and provide efficient detergency.